Operations and Rules

Jim CockrellCube Quest Administrator

Operations and Rules 2

Outline• Intro to Ops and Rules Document• Judges and Judging• Phases• Schedule

– Example Scenario Illustration• Eligibility and Registration• NASA-Furnished Resources• Design Requirements• Ground Tournament Ops and Rules• Down-Select EM-1 Launch Candidates• Rules for Deep Space Derby• Rules for Lunar Derby• General Rules Applicable to Both In-Space Challenges• Administration Contact Information

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 3

Intro to Ops and Rules Document

• CCP-CQ-OPSRUL-001 Operations and Rules document (“the Rules”) is the authoritative document

• This presentation is an overview, only (not complete Rules)

• Rules could change, in case of unforeseen events, after NASA review and with notice

• Be sure to read the Rules!!!

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 4

Referenced in RulesSect. 2.1

Referenced Documents (selected subset)

SLS Secondary Payload Deployment System, InterfaceDefinition Requirements Document (IDRD) In Prog

Required Data for Competitor Teams with Non-NASA Launch In Prog

Required Navigation Artifacts for Authenticating Claimed Communication Distances and Verifying Achievement and Maintenance of Lunar Orbit

On Web

Ground Tournament Submittal Requirements and StandardizedJudging Criteria (aka “Judges Score Card”) On Web

Communications Procedure for Both In- Space Challenges (CommsProc) On Web

Planetary Protection Provisions for Robotic Extraterrestrial Missions – NPR 8020.12 On Web

NASA Technical Standard, Process for Limiting Orbital Debris – NPR 8719.14 On Web

Rules and Regulations, Title 47, of the Code of Federal Regulations. FCC Public Notice DA: 13-445

On Web

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 5

Judges and JudgingSect. 3.1

• Panel of 5 Judges assess team performances with respect to rules, and are final arbitrators of rules

• In Ground Tournaments, Judges: – Receive team submittals, – Confer with NASA subject matter experts, – Interpret the rules, – Assess teams per the Judges Scorecard, – Award points

• In Deep Space and Lunar Derbies, Judges:– receive and assess team in-space comm data, – verify team performances per rules, – assess team achievements, and – declare the winning achievements

• “Meet the Judges” presentation includes more detail

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 6

PhasesSect. 3.2

• Four Ground Tournaments (all optional)– Followed by delivery, integration, launch on EM-1

• EM-1 launch for top-tier winners of GT4!

– Alternatively, teams may arrange for own launch service (at their expense)

• In-space competitions – – Deep Space Derby –

• Competition from a range 4 million kilometers or farther

– Lunar Derby – • Competition from lunar orbit (as defined in rules)

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 7

Notional Challenge Time Line

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 8

ScheduleLatest schedule always on Web

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 9

Eligibility and RegistrationSect. 4.1; Rules 1-3; Sect. 5

• Details in a previous talk– Team leader: U.S. citizen or permanent resident, or entity

incorporated in U.S.– Team members: may include foreign nationals, if located in the U.S.– Citizens of NASA Export Control Program designated countries may

not participate– Teams may not include Federal entities or employees acting within

scope of employment– One CubeSat per team

• Teams submit a Registration Data Package, and a Mission Concept Registration Data Package, per timeframe in rules

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 10

NASA-Furnished ResourcesSect. 3.4

• For qualified “top-tier” winners of GT4:– Launch and deployment on EM-1, the first lunar

flyby mission of Orion, 2018– No-cost integration with SLS upper stage 6U

dispenser• Teams may elect to procure, at their own cost:

– DSN communications services (see later talk)– MMGS (navigation and command) (see later talk)– Small Payload Integration and Testing Services

(SPLITS, KSC) (info available)January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 11

Design RequirementsSect 4.3; Rules 4 and 5

• Comply with SLS Interface Definition Requirements Document (IDRD)

• Only one 6U CubeSat per team• Teams with 3rd-party launches submit Required Data for

Competitor Teams with Non-NASA Launch, and allow CubeSat inspection

• Any part of the EM spectrum may be used for comm achievements, eligible for prizes– subject to FCC RF spectrum allocation, and ground and space

station licensing regulations. See FCC DA:13-445 – (see later presentation)

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 12

Ground Tournament Ops and RulesSect. 4.5; Rules 8 thru 13

• Four Ground Tournaments (GTs) at ~ 6 month intervals• Any team (3rd-party launchers or EM-1) may compete in any, or all, GTs• Teams must score in the top tier of GT4, to qualify for EM-1 launch• All teams are judged according to Judges Scorecard

– 40% of score is determined by likelihood of mission success– 60% of score is determined by compliance with Challenge rules and SLS IDRD– (See details in later talk)

– Timing: • GT1 is Aug 2015; GT4 is Feb 2017• Submit Mission Concept Registration Data Package 30 days before your first GT• Submit documents and data listed on Judges Score Card 30 days before each GT• Expect final scores within 2 weeks of each GT

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 13

Down-Select EM-1 Launch CandidatesSect. 4.5.2.4 and 4.5.3; Rules 13-14

• HEO and SLS will allocate at least 3 slots for Cube Quest Challenge CubeSats on EM-1

• Teams compliant with IDRD and receiving at least 3.0 score at GT4, are qualified for launch on EM-1

• If more teams qualify than slots available, then teams with top GT4 scores will be offered slots– Ties are broken by averaging all GT scores

• “Runner up” teams may stand by, in case a top qualifying team can’t make SLS delivery

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 14

Rules for Deep Space DerbySect. 4.7 Rule 22-23

• Competition takes place beyond 4 million km range from Earth

Prize Award- 1st / 2nd Place

Floor Value Condition

Best Burst Data Rate $225k / $25k One 1024-bit data block Any 30-minute window

Largest Aggregate Data Volume Sustained Over Time

$675k / $75k One thousand 1024-bit data blocks

Any 28 day window

Spacecraft Longevity $225k / $25k 28 days Elapsed days between the first, and very last, receptions of 1024-bit data blocks

Farthest Communication Distance From Earth

$225k / $25k 4,000,000 km At least one 1024-bit data block

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 15

Rules for Lunar DerbySect. 4.8; Rules 24-25

Prize Award- 1st / 2nd Place

Floor Value Condition

Lunar Propulsion $1.0M if one team; Equal share of $1.5M if > one team

One orbit, as defined Range 300 km to 10,000 km above lunar surface

Best Burst Data Rate $225k / $25k One 1024-bit data block

Any 30-minute time window

Largest Aggregate Data Volume Sustained Over Time

$675k / $75k One thousand 1024-bit data blocks

Any 28 day time window

Spacecraft Longevity $450/ $50k 28 days Elapsed days between the first, and very last, receptions of 1024-bit data blocks

January 7, 2015

• Competition takes place while maintaining lunar orbit– Always between 300 km and 10,000 km range above lunar surface

Operations and Rules 16

General Rules Applicable to Both In-Space ChallengesSect. 4.6; Rules 15 and 19

• Competition Start – the time that each team receives notice of deployment from their launch service – EM-1 or otherwise – is start of first “Competition Day”

• Competition End – at end of 365th “Competition Day” for each team, no more achievements eligible for prizes (except for Longevity prizes)

– Longevity competition continues for everyone, until Challenge End

• Challenge End – all activities eligible for Challenge prizes end 365 days after EM-1 deployment - regardless of 3rd-party launcher deployment date

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 17

General Rules Applicable to Both In-Space ChallengesSect. 4.6; Rules 16 and 17

• Ground Stations – – Teams may include ground stations operators, or may purchase their services– Teams may purchase Government ground station services (DSN)– Government ground stations will be offered to all teams under the same terms

and conditions. (More on this in another presentation.)

• Planetary Protection – – Teams must submit ODAR and EOMP compliant with NASA-STD-8719.14 by

GT4– Teams that will operate near the moon must submit an EOMP compliant with

NASA policy for protecting lunar historic sites, and, submit planetary protection plans compliant with NPR 8020.12 at schedule found in Rules. (More on this in a later presentation.)

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 18

General Rules Applicable to Both In-Space ChallengesSect. 4.6; Rule 18

January 7, 2015

• “CommsProc”, a separate document –– For purpose of counting eligible “data

blocks”, and determining transmission begin/end of time windows (30m, 28d, 365d) eligible for prizes

• NASA provides a random number key to each team

• Team CubeSat transmissions include a local time base, embedded in data

• Teams deliver eligible data blocks to judges

• Details in a later talk

Operations and Rules 19

General Rules Applicable to Both In-Space ChallengesSect. 4.7 Rule 22.B; Sect. 4.8 Rule 24.C

• “Required Navigation Artifacts” – a separate doc– Teams submit Navigation Artifacts so Judges and SMEs can

validate actual comm distances, or achievement of lunar orbit, per conditions defined in Rules, as eligible for prizes.

• Approach I - Teams may submit Navigation Artifacts based on telemetric data generated by DSN ground tracking stations.

• Approach II - Teams may submit Navigation Artifacts based on telemetric data generated by their own (or procured) communications/ground tracking stations.

• Details in a later talk

January 7, 2015

Operations and Rules 20

Questions?

Jim CockrellCube Quest Challenge AdministratorARC-cubequestchallenge@mail.nasa.gov

January 7, 2015